London is officially one of Europe’s happiest destinations to visit – beating out cities in Portugal, Italy, Germany, and more

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Sam Barker

 –  Staff Writer

 ·  17 July, 2026

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When it comes to describing Londoners, there are a lot of words and phrases that spring to mind. We’re fast walkers. We’re Tube lovers. We love a moan about the weather – regardless of the weather. And we’re sometimes surprisingly kind, helpful, and friendly. But one word most probably wouldn’t use to describe Londoners is ‘happy’. We’re too busy rolling our eyes at the people who approach ticket gates without their cards at the ready. But apparently, according to recent research, London is one of the happiest destinations in Europe.

We Londoners might not necessarily be the most visibly happy people in the world. But it turns out tourists are pretty darn happy to visit our wonderful city. In between being reminded to stand on the right on the escalator and being side-stepped on the pavement when they stop suddenly without warning, they’re grinning ear to ear.

The Irish travel insurance specialists at JustCover, recently examined over a million online reviews across 155 global destinations to find out where holidaymakers feel happiest. And London somehow managed to take a spot in Europe’s top 5!

The happiest destinations in Europe

To compile the ranking of the happiest destinations for tourists, JustCover analysed reviews and looked at “how often travellers used language expressing happiness and joy”. Each city was then given a ‘Happiness Score’. And these are officially the happiest spots for holidaymakers in Europe:

1. Positano, Italy – Happiness Score: 100
2. Santorini, Greece – Happiness Score: 77.1
3. Kotor, Montenegro – Happiness Score: 67.9
4. Florence, Italy – Happiness Score: 67.1
5. London, United Kingdom – Happiness Score: 64.8
6. Funchal, Portugal – Happiness Score: 64.1
7. Gdansk, Poland – Happiness Score: 60.1
8. Munich, Germany – Happiness Score: 59.5
9. Istanbul, Turkey – Happiness Score: 54.6
10. Rome, Italy – Happiness Score: 53.4

The happiest destinations in the world

In the rest of the world, though, it’s a different story. Unfortunately, London didn’t even crack the global top 15! These are the happiest destinations around the globe for tourists to visit:

1. Tulum, Mexico
2. Soufrière, Saint Lucia
3. Oaxaca, Mexico
4. Las Vegas, United States
5. Maui, United States
6. New York City, United States
7. Cappadocia, Turkey
8. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
9. Chicago, United States
10. Toronto, Canada
11. Maldives, Maldives
12. Austin, United States
13. New Orleans, United States
14. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
15. Positano, Italy

See the full research from JustCover here.